The Green Blues

Everyone knows that building a house takes twice as much work and a lot more money than planned. Not to mention the time pressure and stress on a marriage! THE GREEN BLUES follows Oregon couple Milt and Chris Ritter as they set out to build a passive solar “dream” home. Of course, dreaming was the easy part…

Things go awry before the first nail is driven when the couple learn their concrete budget is woefully inadequate. And then there’s the discovery that their house is being built partially on their neighbor’s property. It goes from bad to worse, when the Ritters run out of money and have to start doing the work themselves.

Navigating the complicated green construction market on a budget is anything but easy. And despite the growing popularity of sustainable living, creating a home that is truly net-zero in energy use is hard to accomplish as the Ritters discovered after they put up the solar panels. As construction costs grow and their bank account dwindles, the Ritters are faced with the very real possibility that their house will never be finished.

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